‘Opened Everyone’s Eyes’: The Bitter Aftermath of Grayson Murray’s Tragic Death Disclosed by PGA Tour Player

The golf world has recently experienced the loss of one of its talented golfers, Grayson Murray. The 30-year-old had withdrawn from the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge. And the following day, the news of his demise sent shockwaves throughout the whole community.

Many golfers from all around the world offered their condolences to the family and loved ones of the two-time PGA Tour winner. Whether it be Scottie Scheffler or Peter Malnati, the latter was the last to tee up along with Murray. One of his fellow PGA Tour golfers and friends, Akshay Bhatia, chose to remember the late golfer during the ongoing RBC Canadian Open.

Akshay Bhatia recalls the fond memories he shared with Grayson Murray

During the post-round presser of the RBC Canadian Open, Akshay Bhatia shared a memory of Grayson Murray, recalling a time when both golfers were traveling back to Raleigh. For the journey, they had to book a private plane. The pros chose to split the expenses incurred, and Murray later paid his portion of the money to Bhatia through a check.

Bhatia continued his story and shared that the check did not go through and said, “Then Charles Schwab, he Zelled me $1,600, and he still owes me 400 bucks, so hopefully I’ll get that when I see him,” The little anecdote did end on a rather emotional note. Raleigh was also the very place where the late golfer grew up.

As per reports, Grayson Murray was already suffering from depression due to alcoholism. Murray’s parents shared the reason behind his death and revealed that he had taken his own life. This opened the eyes of millions of people. Every player on the PGA Tour has been immensely supportive of his parents’ irreparable loss. Bhatia said, “We’re grateful for that because sometimes you feel like no one cares about you, but the fact that he’s touched this many people’s hearts, my heart, he’s made me just really open my eyes a little bit.”

Bhatia and Murray spent a lot of time together on the Korn Ferry Tour and were playing full-time on the PGA Tour this year. It reflected during Murray’s win at the Sony Open in January, where he dropped a 39-footer birdie in the playoff and Bhatia and his fiancé, Presleigh Schultz greeted him on the green. He was one of the first to congratulate him.

Many players chose to pay tribute to Grayson Murray. From golfers and caddies wearing red and black ribbons on Sunday (colors that represented Murray’s hometown, the Carolina Hurricanes), to Davis Riley declaring it a ‘sad day’ despite his win at the Charles Schwab International. On Thursday, Akshay Bhatia once again chose to pay homage to Murray on the Ontario greens.

Akshay Bhatia’s 1-symbol tribute for Grayson Murray

Ahead of the RBC Canadian Open, Akshay Bhatia wrote ‘G$’ on his left wrist in honor of Grayson Murray. He shared the picture on his Instagram story and wrote, “Let’s ride today G’. When asked what it meant to him, he said, “Oh, God, I didn’t think it would be this hard. Yeah, I wrote G-money today. He’s one of my best buddies out here, grew up together. I looked up to him for a long time.”

Bhatia teared up and believed that Murray was watching everyone from above. With this, he shared a crazy incident that happened to him. A couple of days ago, as stated by Bhatia, while he was going back from dinner to the hotel, he looked to the right, and he saw a fresh can with G-money on it. The first person who came to his mind was the 2024 Sentry Champion. The incident made Bhatia realize that Murray’s presence would also be felt by him.

The 22-year-old further dedicated his appearance at the RBC Canadian Open to Murray as he stated, “Yeah, I’m playing for him this week, and every round I play for the next however long. Yeah, he’s just with me all the time, and he meant a lot to me. Just happy and proud to wear Grayson’s name on my wrist,”

The loss of Grayson Murray has indeed left a void that can never be filled, and the entire golf community is still in tatters.